yeoman

noun

yeo·​man ˈyō-mən 

1

a

: an attendant or officer in a royal or noble household

b

: a person attending or assisting another : retainer

c

: yeoman of the guard

d

: a naval petty officer who performs clerical duties

2

a

: a person who owns and cultivates a small farm

specifically : one belonging to a class of English freeholders below the gentry

b

: a person of the social rank of yeoman

3

: one that performs great and loyal service

did a yeoman's job in seeing the program through

Examples of yeoman in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The man is a yeoman on the diamond, having spent the past couple of seasons showing up early and sweating out infield drills to refine his skills at shortstop. —Mirjam Swanson, Oc Register, 29 Oct. 2025

Jackson could give the Eagles yeoman’s work at the position that allows the Eagles to get by until next offseason. —Zach Berman, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025

However, in contrast to the vision of free yeoman workers, historians have found that most laborers who arrived on the first ships were either indentured to individual masters or bound by some other kind of contract that limited their freedom. —Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 7 Aug. 2025

Likewise, the training staff has performed yeoman’s work tending to the Orlando native. —Tom Layberger, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English yoman, yeman

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing yeoman

• yeoman of the guard
• yeoman's/yeoman work/service
• yeoman warder

Rhymes for yeoman

• abdomen
• cognomen
• bowman
• bowmen
• coman
• foeman
• foemen
• gnomon
• nomen
• omen
• roman
• showman

Kids Definition

yeoman

noun

yeo·​man ˈyō-mən 

1

a

: a servant in a royal or noble household

b

: a naval petty officer who works as a clerk

2

: a small landowning farmer